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Air Italy, Wow Air Start Direct Flights From Delhi!

In a bid to boost international air connectivity, European carriers Air Italy and WOW Air have commenced their direct flights from Delhi.

Both these airlines offer direct flights to destinations in North America & Europe.

Air Italy’s Chief Operating Officer Mr. Rossen Dimitrov said the launch of its India-Italy sector represents another major step forward for the airline and reinforces its commitment to network expansion in Asia.

Kiran Jain, Managing Director, WOW air, said that the launch of the flight meant that passengers from India will be able to connect to 13 destinations in North America including Chicago, Washington DC, Orlando and NewYork within 145 minutes of arriving in Reykjavik.

Here are all the details about the flight schedules of both the airlines:

Air Italy

  • Air Italy will fly between Delhi and Milanthrice a week.
  • From next Friday, it will operate on Mumbai-Milan route 3 times using its 252-seater Airbus A-330 with 24 business and 228 economy seats
  • The aircraft has onboard Wi-Fi which will needto be switched off in Indian airspace as India is yet to allow the same
  • Economy passengers wishing to use onboard Wi-Fiwill, however, need to pay for the service

WOW Air

  • WOW Air will fly thrice a week between Delhi and Reykjavik(Iceland)
  • It also offers hopping flights from Iceland toNorth America and Europe.
  • The airline will be flying to 15 North American destinations which include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Toronto andSan Francisco
  • European destinations include Paris & London

WOW Air is the first airline which will allow direct connection between India and Iceland ever. Italy, on the other hand, has regular direct flights to and from India with Air India and Alitalia operating on these sectors.

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Turkish Airlines To Soon Expand Its Operations In India!

Turkish Airlines is planning to expand its operations in India with direct flights to Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Amritsar and Bengaluru.

It is also planning to double its operations in Delhi & Mumbai. Regarding this, the airline has written a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Currently, the airline is flying directly from Istanbul to Mumbai and New Delhi along with hopping flights from the 2 Indian cities to Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Amritsar.

While there is no clarity on when the deal is likely to materialise, news reports are saying that the negotiations between the ministry and the airline are on.

The airline has a fleet of 33 Boeing 777 aircraft, and three of those are 400 seaters which are being used for Indian routes. Turkish Airlines currently is flying 14 times a week and it wants to increase the frequency to 70 times a week.

Foreign tourist arrivals to Turkey from India increased by approximately 9 percent in 2017 to 86,996. In 2018, the number went up to 1,20,897.

With over 150 Indian-origin registered companies in Turkey as of 2016, bilateral trade between India and Turkey stood at $6.409 billion. With the New Istanbul international airport in “Arnavutköy” district, the trade possibilities will see a rise leading to more tourists to Turkey.

Turkey is also seen as a popular choice for weddings according to Mr. Karan Anand, Head-Relationships at Cox & Kings. He said that more than 200 Indian weddings have taken place in the past 2 years in Turkey.

These are opportunities that the national carrier does not want to miss out on, which is why they are planning to expand their operations.

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Airlines Decision To Charge For Web Check-In Under Scanner!

Low budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet had recently announced that they will now charge passengers for web check-in services. Due to this customers have been raising their concerns on various social media platforms.

However, the Ministry of Civil Aviation(MoCA) announced yesterday that they will now review the airline’s decision to charge passengers for any of the seats selected at the time of web check-in, to ascertain whether the move is in compliance with existing rules.

According to the MoCA’s twitter handle, the government has noted that airlines are now charging for web check-in for all seats and are reviewing these fees to see whether they fall within the unbundled pricing framework.

Earlier, the airline charged only for particular types of seats like a window or aisle seat or seats having extra legroom when passengers opted for online selection.

IndiGo will now charge Rs 100-800 for such selection online, depending upon the seat. For web check-in of a first-row seat, a passenger will have to pay as much as Rs 800 extra, while a non-reclining seat in row 12, which is next to the emergency exit, will cost an additional Rs 600 when selected online. A middle seat in the last row will cost Rs 100 more.

However, if you go directly to the airport and check-in on the spot you can select your seat for free, depending on the availability.

Web check-in provides convenience to travellers allowing them to opt for preferential seats.

However, making all seats chargeable will deter individuals from web check-in prior to their departure, resulting in longer airport queues both at the boarding desk as well as self-check-in kiosks.

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IndiGo & SpiceJet To Now Charge For Web Check-in!

Low-Cost Carriers, IndiGo & SpiceJet, will now charge you a fee to use their online check-in services!

Passengers earlier had to pay a fee for selecting a seat with the 2 airlines however, the budget airliners have announced that they will charge for online check-in services as well, to make up for high cost of operations.

Mumbai-based low-cost carrier GoAir is still offering some seats for free. Full-service airlines like Jet Airways, Vistara don’t charge for seat selection.

IndiGo and SpiceJet’s decision comes at a time when airlines are struggling with rising costs but can’t afford to raise ticket fares due to competition.

Such charges will help to boost ancillary revenue of the airlines. Ancillary revenue consists of charges like baggage fees, seat selection fees, cancellation charges.

Experts said that airlines were free to charge for the online check-in service as aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) has allowed unbundling of services.

The move of the airlines was, however, received with shock and anger from flyers who tagged civil aviation minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu and his deputy Mr. Jayant Sinha on Twitter and urged to stop the practice.

Flyers have said that this will lead to increased congestion at major airports like Delhi and Mumbai as more people will now turn up in airport counters for check-in.

This, in turn, will also increase the burden for airlines at airports forcing them to increase check-in counters and hire more people.

Another major problem that people pointed out was that there will be no guarantee that tickets bought at the same time(Same PNR)  will allow passengers to sit together. To get the seats together, one will have to do it through the web check-in. Else, they will have to go for the free seats, which will be allotted as per availability.

However, web check-in for the seats booked for corporate use are still available free of cost.

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IndiGo Becomes 1st Indian Airline To Fly 5 Million Passengers In A Month!

India’s leading airline, IndiGo,  has achieved a new feat in the month of October 2018 becoming the first domestic airline to fly more than five million passengers in a particular month.

According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) monthly performance report for October 2018, IndiGo has flown 50.75 lakh passengers in October.

Between January to October 2018, IndiGo carried 11.5 crore passengers, 21.1% higher than the last year’s figure.

It will also become the 1st airline in India to have 200 airplanes. For now it has 196 aircraft but will soon cross the 200 mark by next year.

India’s second-biggest airline Jet Airways flew 15.72 lakh passengers in the month of October, which was the second highest followed by Air India and SpiceJet.

Compared to the year so far, passenger traffic growth slowed down last month as domestic airlines increased spot fares on the back of higher fuel prices and a weaker rupee.

In terms of aircraft occupancy, Spicejet bagged the top spot in October recording an occupancy rate of 90.8%. GoAir stood second in the list with 84.1 % occupancy followed by IndiGo, which recorded 83.1 % occupancy.

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10 Things You Can Get For Free On An International Flight!

The competition in the airline industry has increased a lot recently and this has helped customers in return. Flights have become cheaper than before and Airlines are offering a variety of services to the flyer.

Some of these services include free stuff that is being provided to make our long air travel easy.

So, go ahead and enjoy these free services that you can get when you fly with an International Airline

1.Basic Medical Facilities

This is an important service, which is mandatory for airlines to provide, by law. All commercial airlines have bandages for minor cuts, painkillers, antacids and other medical kit items.

So, in case you feel sick contact any member of the crew to get assistance. The crew is also well trained to tackle such situations and can help you.

You don’t need to worry during a medical emergency. All you need to do is to reach out to the crew.

2.Extra Snacks & Seconds

The small packets of snacks always leave us wanting for more. There is a common misconception that if you had your snacks once, you can’t have them again.

The good news is that you can ask for it the second time as well!

The flight crew will be more than happy to serve you with extra snacks, but they can do it only when they are done serving snacks to all the passengers.

The chances of having extra snacks increase at late night flights because many passengers avoid munching at that time.

3.Kid’s Essentials

Airlines care about their little flyers and do their best to keep babies and Kids at ease.

Many airlines provide parents with facilities like kid’s diapers, reheating the baby’s bottle or food, and baby bassinets for an infant.

The crew members are trained for short-term babysitting, which can be availed by parents during tiring moments on a flight.

4.Grooming kits

Airlines know the importance of looking sharp.

That’s why most of them are equipped with grooming accessories like hairbrushes, combs, toothbrushes, socks, shaving items, mouthwash, and moisturizers.

So, in case, you forget any of these items, ask the crew politely and avail the facility.

5.Cockpit Tours

This may seem a bit confusing, given the security inside an airplane cockpit, but if you ask, many pilots are more than willing to give mini cockpit tours before or after the flight.

The best time for a visit is usually after a flight has landed, since that’s when pilots tend not to be as rushed.

Many pilots love to get visitors, especially wide-eyed children. It makes their day to have the chance to show off their office.

6.Sanitizing Wipes/Tissues

The stream of passengers passing through airplanes each day turns tray tables, armrests, and entertainment-system buttons into germ factories.

If you’d like to clean your area before settling in, ask a flight attendant for a few sanitizing wipes. They often have them on hand, though it’s not something most passengers know they can ask for.

7.Water Bottle Refills

If onboard supplies allow it, flight attendants are usually willing to refill your empty bottle of water for you.

Since passengers who carry their own water bottles must empty them before going through security at the airport, this added service can come in extra handy for the hydration-conscious.

8.Help Switching Seats

Have a seat assignment that’s got you sitting far from a travel companion?

Flight attendants are often willing to help negotiate seat switches so you can sit together. They can help if there’s time, so if you’re going to ask for help, do it soon after boarding.

They may ask you to wait until everyone has taken their seats (or until you’re at cruising altitude), but it’s better to have your polite request on their mind for whenever they have a second.

9.Alcohol

Cheers! Most airlines offer free alcoholic beverages in first and business class and a selection of free wine/beer on international flights.

So if you need something to calm your nerves down at 30000 feet or just want to kick back and relax on your seat, don’t hesitate to go for that extra pint of beer, cause its free!

10.Wing Pins For Kids

Most airlines have cut free food and snacks for adults and kids, but many still offer little flyers wing pins to commemorate their flight.

Not all flights will have them, but there’s no harm in asking. Usually, flight attendants have them stashed somewhere in the cabin itself.

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Indian Airlines Seek Government’s Help To Get Out Of Financial Instability!

Airlines are asking the government to help them obtain unsecured credit from oil companies and airports to help them get over operational difficulties, as rising oil prices have threatened their financial stability.

Competition and high demand for air travel is forcing airlines to keep airfares low, which in turn is having a drastic effect on their day to day operational costs.

The Federation Of Indian Airlines (FIA), which consists of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, have sent a letter to the government addressing this issue saying that “Airlines are facing challenging times and substantial losses in the domestic environment”.

In the letter, airlines have asked the government to assist them to acquire a penalty-free, one-month unsecured credit from oil companies, as well as state-run Airports Authority of India and private airports.

The plea is the latest signal of the crisis facing airlines in India, where the world’s fastest growth in air travel has created a capacity shortage, while high fuel prices and a weaker rupee squeeze them further.

Base airfares can be as low as Rs 1 in India, while states charge taxes as high as 30% on jet fuel. The rupee has weakened almost 11% this year against the dollar, driving up financing costs on overseas borrowings. Airlines are unable to pass on those costs to the customer to keep their market share.

CRISIL, a renowned global analytics firm, has suggested that airlines will have to increase their current airfares by 12 % if airlines want to recover their losses and have enough to operate their day to day functions.

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Airlines May Soon Be Ranked On The Basis Of Customer Feedback!

India citizens may soon rank its airlines based on the quality of service they provide to flyers. If this concept is implemented it will be the first country in the world to do so.

The quality will be determined by the ratio of passengers flying with a particular airline and the number of complaints registered against it.

Aviation Minister, Mr. Suresh Prabhu, said this on Monday while launching an upgraded version of the ministry’s aviation portal “Air Seva 2.0”, which promises to make registration of grievances and their redressal faster.

According to Mr. Prabhu, the ministry with the help of the portal will categorise airlines. For this, they will take the help of Quality Council Of India to determine the parameters for ranking airlines.

Airlines ranked lower will have to work to improve their standings as passengers will choose the airlines which are more customer friendly. This way the overall service from airlines is bound to improve.

Mr. Prabhu and his deputy in the ministry, Mr. Jayant Sinha, have always been very proactive on social media. They say that their social media accounts are flooded with complaints from various flyers across the country which made them think about a more systematic process for registering grievances and redressing them.

The next version of the portal, “Air Seva 3.0”, will be launched in a couple of months. It will allow passengers to register for Digi-Yatra, which offers paperless boarding for domestic passengers.

It will kick off in Bangalore and Hyderabad by February, followed by Varanasi, Kolkata, Pune and Vijayawada some months later. Other airports will soon follow suit.

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